Arrangement in protective device

ABSTRACT

An air breathing arrangement including an air feed inlet and a mask for covering the nose and mouth of a person. The air feed inlet and the mask are connected by a collar which serves as an intermediate storage of air. The collar is shaped to fit around the neck of the person.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an arrangement in a protective device, forinstance a welder's mask or a face shield, which comprises means forfeeding air from outside the protective device to the person wearingsaid protective device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To supply the wearer with fresh air for breathing has been a problemwith protective devices. The problem is at its worst when the wearer ofthe protective device has to work in conditions that are hot and involvevarious fumes and impurities. Various stages of operation relating towelding and grinding can be given as examples of work in whichconditions like this prevail.

Attempts have been made to solve the above-described problem by means ofvarious air feed solutions. An example of a typical prior art solutionis the one in which air is fed inside a mask or a helmet through aconnection arranged in the upper part of the protective device, such asa welder's mask, face shield, safety helmet or some other correspondingdevice, and is distributed to the facial area of the wearer by means ofvarious nozzle arrangements.

A problem with the above-described prior art technology is, forinstance, that the solution is protective-device-specific, andconsequently it is difficult to apply the solution to variousconventional protective devices. Another problem is the draughtgenerated by air flow, which may in some cases prevent the solution frombeing utilized completely. The reason for the draught problem is thatsome people are extremely sensitive to draught, and in any case,continuous air blow directed to eye area, for instance, irritates eyesin a prolonged work situation. A further problem is the weight increaseof the protective device due to components required by the solution.Numerically, the weight increase is not large, but it is to be notedthat even a slight weight increase may hinder the work, since it isoften necessary to wear the protective device for hours without a break,and a weight resting on the head is always a strain on the neck. Onemore problem is that a shield linked to a helmet prevents the air frombeing fed from above to the nose and mouth area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide an arrangement by means ofwhich the drawbacks of the prior art can be eliminated. This is achievedwith an arrangement in accordance with the invention, which ischaracterized in that the air distribution means comprise a mask partcovering the wearer's nose and mouth.

The primary advantage of the invention is that the problems caused byair flow that generates draught to the facial area can be eliminated ina very efficient manner. Another advantage is that the arrangement inaccordance with the invention can be used in connection with variousprotective devices without changes in the protective device itself.Moreover, the arrangement in accordance with the invention supports andprotects the wearer's chin, neck and throat without a strain caused byweight. The part acting as the intermediate storage of air also evensout the air flow and ensures a sufficient supply of fresh air. Theintermediate storage also acts as a noise reduction element whichreduces noise related to the air flow. The arrangement in accordancewith the invention also has the advantage that it does not cause anyinconvenience whatsoever to eyeglass wearers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail bymeans of one preferred embodiment shown in the attached drawing, inwhich

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of an arrangement in accordancewith the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a front view of the arrangement of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a protective device in general is indicated by thereference numeral 1. The protective device 1 is a welder's mask in theexample of the figures, but it is obvious that the protective device 1may also be some other protective device, for instance, a face shield, asafety helmet with omnidirectional head protection, et cetera.

In the figures, the reference numeral 2 indicates in general means forfeeding air from outside the protective device to the person wearingsaid protective device. The means 2 comprise, for instance, a hose thatis connected to a source of air. The source of air may be, for instance,a separate blowing apparatus, a shared air system between users, or somesuch arrangement. These devices and arrangements are conventionaltechnology to the person skilled in the art, so they are not describedin greater detail in this connection.

In accordance with the basic idea of the invention, the means 2 forfeeding air also comprise a collar part 4 to be arranged round thewearer's neck, the collar part being arranged to serve as anintermediate storage of air to be fed to the wearer. The intermediatestorage of air evens out the flow of air and ensures a sufficient supplyof air. In the embodiment of the figures, an air feed inlet 8 ispreferably arranged in the back of the collar part 4. To place the inletin this way is preferable from the wearer's point of view, since the airfeed hose interferes as little as possible with working. Airdistribution means 5, which are arranged to distribute the air, fed tothe collar part 4 acting as the intermediate storage of air, to thefacial area of the wearer, are arranged in the collar part 4. The airdistribution means 5 preferably comprise a mask part 6 covering thewearer's nose and mouth, by means of which mask part fresh air issupplied directly for breathing in an efficient manner. If necessary,the mask part 6 can be supported in place by means of elastic straps, orthe like 9, extending round the wearer's head. The mask part has theadvantage that the draught problems caused by air flow can be eliminatedin a very efficient manner. A valve means 7 through which the exhaledair is conducted out of the mask part, is arranged in the front of themask part 6. The flow of the exhaled air is indicated in principle byarrows M in FIG. 2. The valve means 7 may consist of, for instance, athin film which does not let in air and through which the pressurizedair is exhaled out of the mask. Naturally, a suitable flap mechanism,etc., can also be used as the valve means. The valve means can also bemade adjustable.

The collar part 4 and the air distribution means 5 are preferably madeof a flexible material, e.g. silicone rubber or some other suchmaterial. The collar part 4 and the air distribution means 5, forinstance the mask part 6, can preferably be of the same material andmanufactured to form an integral part, as is done in the example of thefigures. However, it is obvious that the collar part 4 and the airdistribution means 5 can also be formed into separate elements which areinterconnected with an air channel. Due to the flexible, integralstructure shown in the figure, the air feed to the mask part can beimplemented in a most advantageous manner. The flexible structure alsopermits flexible and close-fitting support and protection to thewearer's chin, neck and throat. The flexibility of the structure isindicated by the arrow N in FIG. 2.

The above-described embodiment is not intended to restrict the inventionin any way, but the invention may be modified quite freely within thescope of the appended claims. Hence it is obvious that the arrangementin accordance with the invention or its details need not necessarily beexactly such as illustrated in the figures, but other solutions are alsopossible.

What is claimed is:
 1. The combination of a protective device and an airbreathing arrangement for a person wearing the protective device, theair breathing arrangement comprising: an air feed inlet; a mask forcovering the nose and mouth of the person; and a generally annularcollar connecting the inlet and the mask to distribute air from theinlet to the nose and mouth of the person, the collar shaped andconfigured to fit only around the neck of the person and acting as anintermediate storage for the air; and wherein the protective devicecomprises a hood separate from the air breathing arrangement and movableto cover the mask of the air breathing arrangement and protect the faceof the person.
 2. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecollar and the mask are made of flexible material.
 3. The combination asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the collar and the mask are interconnectedwith an air channel.
 4. The combination as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe collar and the mask are made of the same material and formed as anintegral part.
 5. The combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein themask comprises a valve for passage of exhaled air from the person.